Science Fair
Announcements
All Science Fair projects will be set up in the gym Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, November 19-21.
We need help each day from 3:00-4:00 monitoring the gym while students go through and look at the exhibits. We already have one parent who will be spending the school hours helping out.
Please contact the office (414-2082) if you are able to help. Thank you!
About the Science Fair
Gullett has an annual science fair each year. All third-fifth grade students are required to enter the fair.
Students may do 1 of 4 things.
- A collection with report (3rd & 4th only): Students may choose to create a collection of things found in nature like feathers, leaves, rocks, seeds, soil, shells, sand, etc. The student will then sort the collection into categories. Of course, adults would develop much more sophisticated categories, but the student should develop the categories of the collection based on the student's observation of the collection itself.
Here is a collection example: While an adult might categorize rocks by metamorphic, sedimentary or igneous in nature, most students haven't studied rocks in this way yet. A student's rock categories might include shiny versus dull, chalky versus hard, etc. The student will need to write a descriptive paper on how the collection was developed and how the categories were determined. Sources of information via books, magazines, the Internet, etc. should be included in the report. - A model with report (3rd &4th only): A student may choose to build or draw a detailed, labeled model to show how something works, or what something looks like inside. Scientists use models to show the inner workings of things that are too big to collect, or impossible to keep. Examples include: a labeled model of a steam engine, a labeled model of the human eye, or a labeled model of the insides of an animal. The student will need to include a report explaining how the model works. Sources of information via books, magazines, the Internet, etc. should be included in the report.
- A demonstration with report (3rd &4th only): A student may choose to show how a scientific discovery actually works. The student will build the demonstration and perform the lab for the class. Examples are: build and demonstrate how a steam engine (using a metal cigar tube) moves a boat, demonstrate how electricity works, demonstrate how a vacuum is created in a bottle with a match and a boiled egg. The student will need to include a report explaining how the demonstration works. Sources of information via books, magazines, the Internet, etc. should be included in the report.
- An experiment (3 &5th, required for 5th). A student may choose to perform an experiment. The experiment is very different from the other 3 choices. The student will not know the outcome of the experiment until all the data is collected. Here is a sample of the parts and procedures in doing an experiment. Every part must be included for an experiment.
Here is a sample experiment.
A. Hypothesis - The student decides upon a question he/she wants answered and decides on what he/she thinks will happen.
Question: Does my dog prefer small pieces of dog food or large chunk dog food (of the same brand)?
Hypothesis: I think my dog will prefer large chunk dog food.
B. Materials: The student needs to list all necessary materials so that another scientist can replicate the experiment exactly.
- Purina small bite dog food
- Purina large chunk dog food
- 2 identical (in color and size dog) food bowls
- paper to record results
- stopwatch or watch with a second hand
- dog
C. Procedures: The student will need to describe in articulate terms how to run the experiment.
- First, I will count out 20 pieces of the Purina small piece dog food and place it in one dog food bowl.
- Next, I will count out 20 pieces of the Purina large chunk dog food into the second dog food bowl.
- I will place both bowls down at the same time in front of the dog and start the stopwatch.
- I will write down exactly what the dog does - which bowl does he/she choose first, does the dog go back and forth?
- I will pick up the bowls after 10 seconds to count what is left in each bowl.
- I will repeat this experiment for 5 days and collect data each day.
D. Data collection: The student will then put the data into some kind of graph to demonstrate the results.
E. Conclusion: The student now looks at the data to determine what actually happened.
Every day of my experiment, my dog chose more pieces of small dog food than large dog food. That surprised me. Consequently, I did not prove my hypothesis.
It doesn't matter whether the hypothesis is proven or not. Disproving a hypothesis is equally important in science. An example is the race to find a cure for AIDS. Any research that eliminates a drug is very valuable to all researchers.
Sources of information including books, magazines, the Internet, etc. should be included with the experiment.
